On Thu, 12 Sep 2013 09:00:42 -0700, pyotr filipivich
wrote:
"Jim Wilkins" on Thu, 12 Sep 2013 10:19:56
-0400 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
"pyotr filipivich" wrote in message
news
"Jim Wilkins" on Wed, 11 Sep 2013 13:01:33
-0400 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:
...
But finding a cell phone which is just a telephone, and not a
rinky-dinky "communicator-knock off" which takes pictures, movies,
emails them to your cousin in Bavaria, surfs the web, feeds the cat,
schedules appointments with the Dentist, and tells the world your
GPS location (but can't complete a phone call if you're moving) - that
is a bit more difficult.
pyotr filipivich
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/cell-phones/paylo/
Available at Radio Shack.
I'm using Virgin's "pay-lo" program. I'm "spending" more per
month, OTOH, I have not had to "add more minutes".
It isn't the "plan" so much that I object to, as the hardware. I
know as well as the other guy, that the cost of chips keeps coming
down, the effectiveness of batteries keeps going up, and so "it makes
sense" to the design geeks to add "features". Because they can.
Has anyone else noticed that Cell phones started out the size of a
brick, then steadily shrunk in size, but have recently started to
trend back up in size?
The prepaid cell plan I'm grandfathered into costs $20 every 90 days,
and unused funds accumulate. It uses Sprint, which has limited 3G
coverage outside urban areas, and no 4G here. Since I use it mainly
for long-distance calls from home that doesn't matter.
I have Virgin's Broadband2Go Internet access whenever I need to
download large program files and updates:
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/mobil...2-go/overview/
The WalMart plan gives a month of access and a 1GB limit for $20.
So for you guys with smartphones, what all do you use yours for? What
are the benefits of switching from a landline to a cell? I still hate
cell because 90% of all cell calls (in my experience) have voice
dropouts and/or hangups. Old tech, new tech, digital, it's all the
same weak platform. It doesn't seem to matter which carrier they
have, either. AT&T, Sprint, Tmobile, USCellular are all guilty.
VOIP is just as bad lately. RedBeacon is working with Home Depot to
find qualified contractors and the lady called me to sign me up. I
couldn't get half her words (after translating from Flip.) I was just
like cell: Dead air, then she returned in mid sentence with no
possibility for me to parse the missing words. We tried again later
and it was better.
For completeness, I get HDTV for free with an antenna and record it on
old laptops, one running 7 Media Center and the other AverMedia's TV
program. The little clip-on dipole that comes with the Aver H837 tuner
receives Boston pretty well from 30+ miles away.
These are examples of low-cost solutions that give me maybe 98% of
what I want. Ensuring 100% would cost much more. That's the choice
which enables simplicity of design.
What is that old machinist bit:
0.0 = $
0.00 = $$
0,000 = $$$$
0.0000 = $$$$$$
Much of what you say is true.
Which brings us back to the original cliche: the system is
complete not when there is nothing left to add, but when here is
nothing left to remove. For those who must have TV/Cable, there is a
downside limit to how much can be removed, or not acquired. And one
would be surprised at how much one can save by deciding to not have
cable/TV at all. Not only is there the savings on the cable bill, but
the aspirin, pepto, and sleeping pills :-) Not to mention the costs
to one's serenity by not having the latest new and improved
schlockmeister2000!
I figure I've saved over nine grand since I gave up TV about 8 years
ago. That's nothing to sneeze at. I have lots more time to read and
finish some other projects, too. Now, when I walk into an area with a
TV, I'm shocked at how farkin' LAME it all is. I think "Jayzuss, I
used to listen to that crap? Gag me with a spoon, valley girl."
But there are some potential for problems. I am recalling a
cartoon from a long time ago, showing a nude couple in an apparent
post coital cuddle on the couch,caption is "Now do you remember what
we used to do before we got the TV?"
Yeah, that can get expensive if you forget to put the helmet on.
--
[Television is] the triumph of machine over people.
-- Fred Allen